Chicken Tinga is a traditional Mexican shredded chicken in a smoky, spicy red sauce made with chipotle peppers. A tasty, easy taco filling!
This chicken makes the best tacos or burritos for dinner, especially with all your favorite toppings and sides. For more meaty Mexican main dishes, try my Slow Cooker Chicken Carnitas and Tacos Al Pastor recipes!
Sabrina’s Mexican Chicken Tinga
Mexican Chicken Tinga is a traditional recipe with incredible flavor. The shredded chicken is fairly simple but what really makes this dish special is the sauce! It’s made with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, sauteed onions, tomatoes and some Mexican seasonings for a smoky, spicy, and bold sauce with layers of flavor. I will warn you, those chipotle peppers can pack quite a bit of heat, even with the tomatoes to balance it out, this dish is pretty spicy for some folks. For a milder, yet equally saucy and delicious dinner, check out my Ground Chicken Tacos.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 8 chicken thighs , bone-in and skin-on
- 8 cups water
- 4 yellow onions , thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 29 ounces canned whole tomatoes , do not drain
- 4 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce , from one can
- 1 tablespoon chicken base , better than bouillon or 2 cubes chicken base
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 16 corn tortillas , slightly warmed and charred
- 1/2 cup cilantro , chopped
- 1 lime , cut into wedges
Instructions
- To a large dutch oven add the chicken, water, salt, cumin, black pepper and 1 cup of the diced onions.
- Bring to a simmer on medium heat.
- Lower heat to medium low, keep covered, and cook for 1 hour.
- Remove the chicken, shred the meat apart, discard the bones and skin.
- Note: You can keep this water to make rice to go along with the Chicken Tinga.
- Dry out the dutch oven with a paper towel.
- Keep the chicken in a bowl and add vegetable oil to your dutch oven on medium heat.
- Add in the remaining onions and cook until translucent, about 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- In a high speed blender add the canned whole tomatoes, canned chipotle peppers with a bit of sauce, chicken base, salt, cumin and black pepper and puree well.
- Add the sauce mixture to the pot with the onions and the shredded chicken.
- Stir well and bring to a simmer.
- Serve over corn tortillas with fresh cilantro and lime wedges.
Nutrition
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Table of contents
Chefs Note: Save the Chicken Broth
Don’t toss out the seasoned water you boil the chicken in, instead use it to make rice! After cooking the meat, the liquid left is similar to chicken broth, so it infuses the rice with a savory chicken flavor. You can just cook plain white rice in it for an instant flavor upgrade or use it to make Mexican Rice!
Ingredients
- Chicken: This recipe uses bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. After cooking, you shred the chicken and discard the bones and skin. However, cooking it with bone-in meat is still best because it infuses the chicken with extra flavor and keeps the inside from drying out during the slow cooking time. You can also use chicken breasts for this recipe. They’re slightly lower in fat, which makes it easier for them to dry out, especially if you use boneless chicken breasts, so you need to watch the cooking time.
- Onion: Divide the onion into 2 portions. One part will be cooked with the chicken, and the other will be caramelized and added to the delicious tomato and chipotle sauce.
- Chipotle peppers: Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce add great flavor to this chicken recipe. Chipotle peppers are jalapenos, which have been smoke-dried and preserved in the sauce. They have a distinct smoky flavor and deep warm heat. However they can be very spicy, so feel free to start with 1-2 if you like milder heat, then increase until it’s the right spiciness for your family.
- Tomatoes: Canned tomatoes may be one of the most important ingredients. The peppers, sauce, and spices have a bold, warm, and slightly spiced flavor. Sweet, tangy tomatoes tone down some of the heat and add balance.
- Seasonings: Speaking of the spices, you’ll flavor this dish with a combination of minced garlic cloves, kosher salt, a dash of cumin, and black pepper.
How to Make
- Simmer the Chicken
Add the chicken meat, water, salt, cumin, black pepper, and 1 cup of diced onions to a large Dutch oven. Bring the water to a simmer. Then lower the heat to medium-low and keep the pot covered for 1 hour. After the cooking time, remove the meat. Shred the chicken and discard the skin and bones. Instead of dumping the water, keep it to make rice!
- Tomato Mixture
Dry out your Dutch oven or use a clean pot. Add vegetable oil and place the soup pot over medium heat. Then add the remaining onions and cook until they’re translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Then, add the canned tomatoes, chipotles in adobo sauce, chicken base, salt, cumin, and black pepper to a high-speed blender. Puree the sauce ingredients well. Add the sauce mixture to the pot with the caramelized onions.
- Finish
Add the shredded chicken to the pot. Stir well to combine the chicken with the delicious tomato sauce ingredients. Then, bring to a simmer. Serve over corn tortillas with fresh cilantro, lime wedges, and other taco toppings you’d like.
Can I make this ahead of time?
Yes, this is a great recipe for meal prep. The chicken can be cooked a day or two in advance. You can also prepare the sauce and store the cooked chicken and sauce in a separate container. When you are ready to serve it, add the chicken to the sauce and bring everything to a simmer and cook until heated through.
Nutritional Facts
How to Store
- Serve: Don’t leave the cooked chicken at room temperature for over 2 hours.
- Store: To keep leftovers, let the chicken cool down. Then, transfer the recipe to an airtight container and store it in the fridge. It will stay good for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: For a longer storage option, the cooked chicken and sauce can be kept frozen for up to 4 months.
Ideas to Serve
- Tostada: This smoky delicious chicken is often served on a crispy tostada shell with some Refried Beans. Add some avocado slices and cotija cheese for a truly authentic dish!
- Tacos: You can serve these in regular flour tortillas but my family loves them in lightly fried, crispy corn tortillas best! Add other classic Mexican toppings like cheese, shredded lettuce, salsa, pico de gallo, and guacamole.
- Salad: Instead of serving the chicken in a taco, you could make it into a delicious salad. Just serve the shredded chicken over shredded lettuce. Add toppings like black beans, melty cheese, crushed corn chips, and salsa.
- Bowls: Start with a layer of brown or white rice, then add the chicken and sauce, then finish with your favorite toppings. I like to serve the bowls with a quick cilantro crema which is just sour cream blended with salsa verde and cilantro.
Slow Cooker Method
- Prep Chicken: Season the chicken with salt and pepper then add it to a large slow cooker.
- Cook Onions: Add oil to a skillet and cook the diced onions.
- Blend Sauce: Add the tomatoes, canned peppers with some adobo sauce, and chicken base to the high-speed blender and blend into a puree.
- Combine: Add the onions, tomato sauce, and the dry seasonings to the slow cooker over the chicken.
- Cook: Cover the pot and set the slow cooker time to 6-8 hours on low setting or 4 hours on high.
- Serve: After cooking, shred the chicken and serve it in corn tortillas with your desired fresh toppings and sides.
Variations
- Vegetables: You can add your favorite vegetables to the tomato and pepper sauce. Add red and green bell peppers, squash, cauliflower, and zucchini. You could also use different kinds of onions, like white or red. Chopped green onion also makes a good topping for the recipe.
- Cheese: Feel free to top off the finished dish with your favorite types of cheese. You can use a Mexican cheese blend, Mexican crema, cheddar, Pepper Jack, fresh goat cheese, or any other preference.
- Extra Spicy: If you have a high heat tolerance, you can make this recipe with an extra kick of heat. Chipotle peppers already add quite a lot of spice to the chicken, but you can always add more by using more peppers or adding cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.
- Pork Tinga: Instead of making this recipe with chicken, you can prepare it with pork shoulder. To ensure the pork is done, check that the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F. You can prep the vegetable and sauce ingredients like the original Tinga recipe.
